Such images are in stark contrast to the pristine beauty and glory of Eden as presented in Genesis. Fish become entangled in discarded fishing nets and lines, with bellies full of plastic debris they have swallowed. Many countries’ coastlines are littered with plastic and debris, and there is an “island” of plastic more than the twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean where currents have accumulated the debris. Marine litter is a huge ecological problem. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and subdue it have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” The showdown on Mount Carmel became the defining moment in Elijah’s life. The children of Israel could align themselves with the prophets of Baal, or they could discard everything that opposed the one true and holy God. The prophet Elijah stood before an entire nation and demanded that they make a choice. Later, when Elijah summoned his faith on the mountaintop, it sustained him because he trusted God. God built up Elijah’s confidence in the quietness of a brook, the confines of a widow’s home, and the isolation of the wilderness. The Lesson of Expectation: The Faith You Live by Better Be Good Enough to Die Byįaith that doesn’t bring hope and help during hard times is worthless. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, Jesus offers you this gift of salvation. With the blood of the saints on his hands and a contrite heart, he wrote, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). The apostle Paul staked his life on this claim. While there is only one way to God, it is available to everyone. If believing in whatever we want could secure our salvation, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die on the cross, and most of the Bible would be untrue. But if good deeds lead to salvation, faith has no place in the conversation-it becomes a matter of works-and we can never know if we’ve done enough to win God’s favor. They feel that doing good deeds or simply believing in a higher power should open the gates of heaven. Some people object to the absolute truth claims of Christianity. But their faith was worthless because the object of their faith was worthless. While that may strike you as an odd or even blasphemous statement, it’s the object of our belief that makes a difference. The prophets of Baal believed in the god they worshiped with all their heart. The Lesson of Exclusivity: Faith Can Be Misplacedįaith is not what matters most. Saul was sincere, passionate, and dead wrong. Imagine him tearing through the streets of Jerusalem, breaking into homes, dragging people off to prison, intent on ridding the city of every last Christian. The word havoc is rare in ancient writings secular Greek literature used it to refer to the ravages of a wild boar, which gives us a vivid picture of Saul. Before the apostle Paul converted to Christianity, “He made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). We find another powerful illustration in the New Testament. They were sincere in their efforts, but like many people today, they were sincerely mistaken. There is no doubt that the prophets of Baal displayed reckless abandon for what they believed. The Lesson of Emotion: Sincerity and Passion Are Not Signs of Spirituality Everything! And the response to this miracle was undeniable: “Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, ‘The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!’” (1 Kings 18:39).Ģ. In a spectacular display of God’s power, fire fell from heaven, consuming Elijah’s sacrifice, the wood, stones, water, and everything surrounding it. The power of prayer doesn’t reside in the words that are spoken but in the God to whom the prayer is addressed. Anyone who worries about having the right words to pray can take comfort in this fact: “If anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31). Elijah didn’t have to say much because he knew his God was real and alive and listening. Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again (1 Kings 18:36-37).Īt 63 words long, it only took about thirty seconds to recite. Then the prophet Elijah offered up a simple prayer. Will Elijah Return During the Tribulation?.Who Was Elijah in the Bible? Meet God’s Prophet of Fire.
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